RESULTS FORM LSU LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
"Be All That You Can Be."
Just reading those lines may conjure up memories for the older crowd of soldiers sliding down ropes from helicopters or Seals jumping into life boats in the U.S. Army's recruiting video throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
For the younger crowd, you can click the link below if you want to see what you missed back in the day.
Be All That You Can Be commericial
Highland Baptist's Tyler Blissett, who will soon be heading to West Point, was all that he could be Saturday evening at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse in the boys 3200m. Blissett, the 13-time state champion, who came into Saturday's meet with an indoor personal best of 9:39, won with a 9:23 before falling to the ground of LSU's purple and gray Mondo indoor track surface.
The long-time, legendary Voices of La. HS Track & Field--Mike Boyer and Lynn Roberts--worked in tandem to make sure that the Carl Maddox crowd understood what they were witnessing.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is special," Roberts said. "This is special."
It was special. It moved Blissett to No. 7 on Louisiana's All-Time Indoor 3200m list in the MileSplit LA database.
But the time wasn't what Blissett wanted. He was hoping to revise the fieldhouse composite record book.
"Going in, I was trying to run 9:16 which is Rhen Langley's facility record," Blissett said after the race."I was pushing trying to hit 34s (for 200m splits), but I just felt lactic early,"
It was at the same meet in 2023 when Langley ran the Fieldhouse composite 9:16.
"How long do you think it will stand?," Langley said after the race. "A year or two. Aiden Monistere?"
While Monistere ran a 8:58 last year, Langley's record survived. The record dodged a bullet from the future soldier, Blissett, Saturday night. It's a matter of when...not if.
Keeping it all in stride, Blissett was matter-of-fact about not reaching his goal.
"We're are going to train hard and come back for it."
The "We" is Blissett and his father, Toby Blissett, who is the Highland Baptist head track and field coach.
It was his father who came to mind when emotions spilled over in the post-race interview. Blissett was asked about what he will miss the most about being a Highland Baptist Bear.
"Just coming out here and being coached by my dad," an apologetic Blissett said through the tears. "It's been a great few years. Not having him as a coach is going to be hard."
He had absolutely nothing to apologize for.
This is a column which is to say it's an opinion piece.
So let me stop writing about Blissett for just a moment here and tell you what an absolute joy it has been to cover Blissett's career--and see first-hand-the special bond he has had with his father. I've seen them sitting in the stands talking about a race plan in Mobile, Alabama. And Hugging before a race as they pray on the turf at Ruston's "Hoss" Garrett Stadium before the LA 2 Mile Festival.
Last November, at the Walter Ledet Track & Field Complex, I saw them both wiping away the happy tears after Blissett won his fourth-straight LHSAA State Cross Country championship in Natchitoches.
I don't know where Blissett will serve this country when he finishes his training at West Point, but what I do know is that I will sleep easier at night knowing that he--and others like him across the nation--will be keeping watch and defending our country.
Saturday's Last Chance Qualifier was just Blissett's second indoor meet of 2026. It was also his second meet in as many weeks as he was coming off of his 4:20.74 personal record at the McNeese Indoor No. 2 where he was one second off the meet record.
RACE VIDEO: Watch Highland Baptist's Tyler Blissett's 9:23 3200m
"It was phenomenal," Blissett said of last week's season opener. "I was hoping to run a little faster, but it was my first meet of the season. I had a tweak in my calf for a couple of weeks. It wasn't nothing much. We were going for the meet record of 4:19. I was a second shy, but it was a solid race."
Blissett was asked if it was hard to stay positive not starting his senior track and field season on schedule.
"In a way, yes, but we have a recovery plan," Blissett said. "We have stuff in place to get me better. I trust the people around me. They know what they are doing and they trust me to do what I need to do to get better. It was a hurdle for sure, but nothing we cannot get over."
"Hurdles"--coincidentally are something distance runners are all too familiar with. As they put pressure on their body to perform at a high level.
Just ask Parkway's Brennan Robin, who stepped on a curb in a training run in 2025 and missed the entire indoor season. Robin, a junior, is the No. 1 ranked distance runner in Louisiana's 2026 indoor season with a 4:14 1600m at the LSU High School Classic and a 9:12 in the 3200m at last week's McNeese Indoor No. 2.
Think about this. Four of the top indoor 3200m times in Louisiana history have been run in 2026. Robin's effort at McNeese ranks No. 2 behind Aiden Monistere's 8:58 at last year's VA Showcase. Blissett is at No. 7 on the list.
At No. 9 and No. 10 on the list came from the LSU High School Classic where Jesuit's David Quintana (9:24.74) and Catholic's Augustin Juneau (9:25.10) put on a show.
With apologies to Lynn Roberts, who said it best yesterday evening.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is special."
Blissett wasn't the only one who got a late start during the 2026 indoor season, Parkview Baptist junior Lucy Cramer, coming off an illness at the tail end of the cross country season has been easing back into competitive racing. Saturday, Cramer (5:01.59) finished second to Northshore's Grace Keene (4:57.27) in the 1600m.
NORTHSHORE'S GRACE KEENE ON MEET RECORD 1600m
Keene's time broke Cramer's meet record by .03. It also moved Keen into the No. 1 spot for sophomore girls all-time in Louisiana. Nationally, Keen's time ranks No. 7 for sophomore girls.
Cramer (10:58.10) returned in the 3200m to pick up her first win of her junior track season. Cramer pulled Episcopal's Neva Lambert (11:07)to a huge PR giving Lambert the No. 5 ranking all-time for sophomore girls.
The Willow School's Emma Aldana-Huegla--who is only an eighth grader--gave it everything she had and ran an outstanding time of 11:10. The only eighth grader in the nation who has run faster is Hoover's (Alabama) Reese Gonzalez (10:47).
In Louisiana, only two eighth graders have ever run the 3200m faster than Aldana-Huegla--First Baptist Christian's Gabrielle Jennings (10:57) and Parkview Baptist's Molly Cramer (11:06).
In the girls' 800m, Dutchtown's Keira Melan seemingly came out of nowhere to slip past Lafayette sophomore Riley Siner (2:20.64) to win the event with a time of 2:20.33. Metairie Park Country Day freshman Coco Alvarado was third with a 2:21.39.
The Last Chance boys' 800m was as advertised as two Baton Rouge boys--Catholic's William Decuir and Episcopal's Foster Lambert finished No. 1 and No. 2.
It was a case of "third time's a charm" in the race as on the first attempt there was a spill involving Lambert, who got up off the track and walked back to the line like he had been run over by a truck.
Decuir, who was lined up on the outside, avoided the crash. How the state's leading half miler was lined up on the outside half of lane eight is not known.
What is known is that Lambert was closing fast at the end of the race. It reminded me of an old "Bear" Bryant quote--"We didn't lose the game. We just ran out of time."
It would be fun to know what Lambert would have run if that mishap in the first start of the boys 800m had not happened.
Speaking of fantastic finishes, wait until the end of the boys 1600m in the video below. Denham Springs' Rowan Silk ran a personal record 4:24 slipping past Airline's Jayden Williams in the last few meters of the race to get his first indoor win. Jesuit's Connor Fanberg was third with a time of 4:26. Then, head over to the meet interview to hear what each of them had to say about the race. Silk's interview is the most watched from the meet.
INTERVIEW FROM LSU LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
RACE VIDEO: DENHAM SPRINGS ROWAN SILK WIN 1600m